A sumptuous, standalone dish that I even make outside of Thanksgiving throughout the year, ‘cuz it really is that delicious! The beyond sausage keeps the bread a bit more moist and yummy, and using Miyoko butter makes it especially decadent. Funnily enough, I used to think stuffing was horrible and always avoided it during my family gatherings. But one year, after learning to cook, I tried using a recipe which featured fresh herbs and wow – what a game changer! Please don’t bother with this recipe unless you have the fresh herbs – they really are that important!
The following recipe was adapted from one that was quite delicious, the addition of cornstarch is a great idea! We love this recipe and have cooked it every year for our vegan Thanksgiving.
Ingredients
- 1 lb bag of cubed regular white stuffing bread (optional instructions below if you can’t find it premade: you’ll need 1 pound crusty white bread, cubed, instead)
- 1 package of vegan crumbled breakfast sausage (such as Beyond or Impossible brands)
- Up to 1 cup of sliced almonds (reserve some for topping)
- Up to 1 cup of dried cranberries
- 1 cup Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter
- 1 1/4 cups diced celery (~5 ribs)
- 1 cup diced onion (~1 medium onion)
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 1 cup vegetable broth, plus more as needed
- ½ cup chilled water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Optional Instructions (if you’re making your own stuffing bread)
- Preheat your oven to its lowest temperature setting.
- Put the bread on baking sheets, then bake until dry, 20-25 minutes.
- Place a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Heat the butter in the skillet until fully melted.
- Stir fry the celery / onion until soft, ~10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, around 1 minute.
- Raise the heat, and add the wine, bring to a simmer.
- Allow the wine to cook until reduced by about half, ~4 minutes.
- Stir in 1 cup of broth. Bring it to a simmer.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the broth simmers, stir the chilled water and cornstarch together in a small bowl.
- Add the cornstarch mixture to the broth and continue to let it simmer until it thickens up a bit, about 1 to 2 minutes, then take if off the heat.
- While the broth is simmering, cook the crumbled vegan sausage according to packet instructions on another small skillet, until lightly browned.
- Using a huge bowl, toss the dried cubed bread with the butter mixture, sausage crumbles, sliced almonds (reserving some for the topping), cranberries, and fresh minced herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme) until everything is evenly coated and distributed.
- You can add up to an additional 1/4 cup of broth if necessary, but avoid oversaturating the bread. Season the stuffing with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the stuffing into a medium (2 to 3 quart) baking dish, and then garnish the stuffing with sliced almonds on top. Cover and bake for 20 minutes.
- Uncover and bake for about 20 minutes more, until it’s dried out on top has crispy edges.
- Remove from the oven and serve.
